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U.S. Supreme Court allows secret debate in John Doe filing

The U.S. Supreme Court for now is allowing arguments partly in secret in a case over whether the high court should hear a dispute over the shutdown of an investigation into Gov. Scott Walker’s campaign and conservative groups.(Photo: Associated Press)

The U.S. Supreme Court for now is allowing arguments partly in secret in a case over whether the high court should hear a dispute over the shutdown of an investigation into Gov. Scott Walker's campaign and conservative groups backing him.

In an order Monday, the court said the justices would accept filings made under seal and release copies to the public with parts redacted, a practice that would be similar to what happened in other state and federal courts.

Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm last month asked the nation's top court to overturn a decision by Wisconsin's Supreme Court to shut down an investigation into Walker and groups on the right.

Chisholm and other prosecutors argue state Supreme Court Justices David Prosser and Michael Gableman should not have been allowed to hear the case because their campaigns benefited from work by some of the groups being investigated.

They also want the U.S. Supreme Court to review whether the Wisconsin court got it right when it ruled candidates have free speech rights to work closely with advocacy groups during their campaigns, according to sources.

The U.S. Supreme Court — one member short because of the death of Justice Antonin Scalia — takes only a tiny percentage of cases filed with it each year. Four justices are needed to accept a case.

Joining Chisholm in the effort are two other Democratic district attorneys, Ismael Ozanne of Dane County and Larry Nelson of Iowa County.

In 2012, Chisholm launched the probe of the Republican governor's campaign and brought in other district attorneys as the investigation spread to people and groups based in other counties, including Republican District Attorneys Kurt Klomberg of Dodge County and Jane Kohlwey of Columbia County, who worked on the probe but did not join the appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Special prosecutor Francis Schmitz led the probe, which was conducted under the John Doe law that allowed prosecutors to force people to testify, turn over documents and remain silent about the case.

The Wisconsin Club for Growth and two of its advisers brought legal challenges to stop the investigation for good. One of those advisers, R.J. Johnson, previously worked both for Walker and the Wisconsin Club for Growth.

The state Supreme Court last year ruled 4-2 against the prosecutors. Because the investigation was conducted in secret, large portions of many court filings have been blacked out for the public. The case centers on how much candidates can work with political groups at election time.